Gang posing as Lord Ayyappa devotees burgles 10 houses

Posing as devotees of Lord Ayyappa, a gang allegedly burgled 10 houses in Pantharapalya, Vinayaka Nagar and Nayandahalli to make away with valuables worth more than Rs5 lakh on Monday.

The police said the burglaries took place within a span of 45 minutes, between 2.45 pm and 3.30 pm as the gang, attired in Ayyappa devotees’ garb, targeted houses and stole Rs60,000 in cash and more than 100 gm of gold jewellery.

A police officer investigating the case said that most of the houses burgled belonged to garment factory workers.

The locals, who came to know about the incident, caught six persons and handed them over to the Byatarayanapur police.
Marigowda, an employee of a private factory, came to know that a group, posing as Ayyappa devotees, had broken the doors of his house and also his neighbour’s in Pantharapalya. Later, he came to know of similar incidents of burglaries in Vinayaka Nagar.

Local residents came to know about the presence of some fake devotees near a temple at Old Check-Post. They found some of them changing their dresses and managed to nab six persons.
The police, who detained the six persons for interrogation, did not confirm whether the gang was involved in the burglaries. They are also verifying whether the devotees were genuine or not.

“We want to ascertain whether the six persons in our custody have carried out the burglaries or it was done by others. But, there is no doubt that a gang was involved in these offences. We will nab the real offenders soon,” a senior police officer said.

A case has been registered with Byatarayanapur police. The police have appealed to the public to be on guard against fake devotees of Ayyappa.